Current version for 1 January 2017 to date (accessed 18 February 2018 at 15:47)

Part 3

Part 3 Inspections

13Appointment and identification of inspectors

(1) The Authority may appoint a member of staff of the Authority, or any other person whose services the Authority has arranged to make use of, to be an inspector for the purposes of the education and teaching legislation.

(2) If a person who is not a member of staff of the Authority is appointed as an inspector, the person is, in exercising functions as an inspector, subject to the control and direction of the Authority.

(3) The Authority is to cause each inspector to be issued with a means of identification in the form approved by the Authority.

14Inspection of education premises

(1) An inspector:

(a) is at all reasonable times to have full and free access to any education premises and any documents that are on the premises, and

(b) may remove, or make copies of, any such document, and

(c) may conduct such audits and carry out such inspections on those premises as the inspector considers necessary.

(2) Any such power may be exercised by an inspector only:

(a) for the purposes of determining whether there has been compliance with or a contravention of the education and teaching legislation, or

(b) for the purposes of obtaining documents for purposes connected with the administration of the education and teaching legislation, or

(c) in connection with exercising the functions of an inspector under the education and teaching legislation.

(2A) Any power conferred on an inspector by this section may be exercised on or in relation to education premises without the inspector being required to give notice to any person or body before exercising that power.

(3) A person who hinders or obstructs an inspector in exercising any power conferred by this section is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.

(4) A person is not guilty of an offence under subsection (3) because of any act of hindrance or obstruction unless it is established that the inspector:

(a) identified himself or herself as an inspector, and

(b) warned the person that that act constituted an offence.

(5) This section does not affect any powers under any other provisions of the education and teaching legislation or under any other legislation.

Note.

For example, under section 24 of the Education Act 1990 an inspector may require the principal of a school to furnish a copy of the register of enrolments and attendances that is required to be kept under that section.

(6) In this section:

education premises means any of the following:

(a) any government school or non-government school within the meaning of the Education Act 1990 (including any proposed non-government school in respect of which an application for registration has been made under that Act),

(b) the premises of an approved provider within the meaning of Part 7A of the Education Act 1990 (but only to the extent to which the premises are used to carry out activities as such an approved provider),

(d) the premises of a person or body approved by the Authority to provide professional development in accordance with the requirements of the professional teaching standards under the Teacher Accreditation Act 2004 (but only to the extent to which the premises are used to carry out activities as such a provider),

(e) the premises of a person or body approved by the Minister, the Secretary of the Department of Education or the Authority as a teacher accreditation authority under the Teacher Accreditation Act 2004 (but only to the extent to which the premises are used to carry out activities as such an approved authority).